Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coin Series

by Coin Collecting News on September 21, 2012

The Royal Canadian Mint is nearly finished with its popular Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coin Series. The six-coin, three year series features rotating artwork of iconic animals representative of Canada’s abundant wildlife.

Images of five of the six Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coins. The six-coin series will conclude with one final 2013-dated release. (Click image to enlarge it.)

So far, four wildlife animals have been beautifully portrayed on the reverse of the 99.99% pure silver one-ounce coins. They were the wolf, grizzly bear, cougar and moose. The fifth design, a pronghorn antelope, was revealed recently at the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

With a limited mintage, up to 1,000,000 bullion coins per design, the Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coin Series has attracted both investors and collectors, but the Mint does not sell the coins directly to the public. Instead, an extensive network of bullion distributors distributes the coinage, including multiple banks, coin dealers, foreign currency exchange offices, and brokerage houses worldwide. Those authorized buyers, it should be noted, have been known to request the entire mintage of a design before launch time.

A brief description of the six coins in the Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coin Series follows.

2011 Canadian Wolf Silver Coin – The year 2011 marks this piece that was released in September of 2010. Senior Mint Engraver William Woodruff designed the wolf’s image, standing on a snowy ridge with trees and a full moon in the background.

2011 Canadian Grizzly Silver Coin – This striking rendition of a mature grizzly bear appearing to roar as it stands on all fours near the edge of a body of water with a mountainous terrain in the background. It too was designed by Woodruff, and it launched in January of 2011.

2012 Canadian Cougar Silver Coin – Another action portrayal of an animal in the wilderness, this coin features a cougar, also called a mountain lion or puma, with its mouth open, perhaps letting loose the distinct scream for which it is known, as it climbs over a tree branch in front of a rocky background. Again, Woodruff designed it, and the coin debuted in September 2011 although it has the 2012 date.

2012 Canadian Moose Silver Coin – Released in February 2012, the moose coin featured a detailed image of the animal standing in native vegetation. Like the others, Woodruff designed the reverse of this popular piece.

2013 Canadian Pronghorn Antelope Silver Coin – Breaking the trend, the reverse of the first 2013 dated strike in the series was designed by Emily S. Damstra. The pronghorn antelope is highlighted in the artwork, caught walking through a pasture. This issue will likely go on sale in September.

2013 ? – The last coin of the series has not been unveiled. It is estimated to appear in the first few months of 2013.

Each coin in the series shares the same obverse, the Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. Inscriptions include ELIZABETH II, 5 DOLLARS, and the year.

Another common characteristic of the series of Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coins are the inscriptions on their reverses. They are CANADA, FINE SILVER, 1 OZ, ARGENT PUR, and 9999. The designer’s initials are also inscribed.

As mentioned earlier, interested buyers may purchase issues from the Canadian Wildlife Silver Bullion Coin Series on the secondary market through global coin and bullion distributors.